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Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

BBC World Service


A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.


The History Hour

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that the Nazis researched the Bayeux Tapestry during World War Two. 

Our guest, Professor Catherine Clarke, takes us through the finer details of the famous medieval tapestry. 

Plus, communist fighters struggling to survive while following Mao Zedong during the Chinese Civil War in 1935. 

The firefighter who survived the collapse of the North Tower with his crew during the 9/11 attacks in 2001. 

The Irish woman whose report changed the date of D-Day, and the winner of the first Rubik's Cube World Championship. 

We also learn how reports of a moving statue in rural Ireland drew thousands of visitors in 1985. 

Contributors: 

Sylvette Lemagnen - former curator of the Bayeux Tapestry 
 
Catherine Clarke - Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London 

Zhong Ming - soldier in Mao Zedong's army 

Jay Jonas - former New York firefighter 

Edward Sweeney - son of Maureen Flavin 

Minh Thai - Rubik's Cube World Champion 1982 

Ita Dungan - pilgrim to the site of the reported moving statue in Ballinspittle

(Photo: The Bayeux Tapestry. Credit: Reuters/Charles Platiau)

The mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry and surviving 9/11

Max Pearson presents a collection of science fiction themed Witness History stories from the BBC World Service.

Our guest is Lisa Yaszek, Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA.

Actor Peter Coyote looks back on the making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, sharing memories from the set and reflecting on the film's enduring appeal.

We hear the story of Octavia E. Butler, who overcame poverty, racism and sexism to become one of the most influential voices in science fiction.

Plus, how American television boldly went where it had never gone before with what is claimed to be the country’s first interracial kiss broadcast on television, in an episode of Star Trek in 1968.

We also hear about Turkish Star Wars, the cult film that would go on to gain a reputation as one of the world's worst movies.

And how the success of the original Star Wars transformed toy marketing forever.

Then, in Sporting Witness, the story behind Norwegian commentator Bjørge Lillelien's legendary reaction to Norway's 2-1 victory over England in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo in 1981.

Contributors:
Lisa Yaszek - Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA.
Peter Coyote - actor in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Nisi Shawl - friend of Octavia E. Butler.
Nichelle Nichols - actress who played Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek (archive).
Çetin İnanç - film director (archive).
Jim Swearingen - toy designer.
Marius Lillelien - son of Bjørge Lillelien.

(Photo: On the set of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Credit: Universal/Getty Images)

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and the creator of Star Wars toys

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.

We learn why, in 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution - the first country in the world to do so. And environmental historian Ellen Arnold reveals how water has shaped human history.

Also, we tell the story of the fatal hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Pakistan, 40 years ago. And how the island of Antigua was devastated when Hurricane Luis hit the Caribbean in 1995. 

We find out more about the abandoned Nazi photo album revealing the chilling normality of life at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Plus, how a Northern Ireland peace movement was born from one family’s tragedy.

Finally, in Sporting Witness, why Ghana’s sprinting superstar Alice Annum won the nickname ‘Baby Jet’.

Contributors:
Carmen Sosa - member of the water workers trade union.
Ellen Arnold – environmental historian.
Eli Fuller – Antigua resident.
Madhvi Bahunga - Pan-American Airways flight attendant.
Rebecca Erbelding – archivist and historian.
Gerry Grehan - chairperson of the Peace People.
Alice Annum - Ghanian sprinter.

(Photo: A woman casts her ballot in Montevideo, 2004. Credit: Miguel Rojo/AFP via Getty Images)

Voting for water and surviving a hurricane

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

Our guest is Dr Elisabeth Fondren, Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New York, USA.

We start by hearing some groundbreaking frontline reporting from the Battle of Mandalay in World War Two.

Then, we hear how in 1950s Canada, a controversial government scheme saw the relocation of nearly 30 thousand people. 

Next, a pioneering scientist on his role in the fight against a flesh-eating parasite, the New World screwworm in the 1950s.

Plus, the extraordinary life and times of India's "Queen of Melody", Asha Bhosle.

Then, the formation of the English Premier League in 1992.

Finally, how, an Australian recipe book brought novelty birthday cakes to the masses in 1980.

Contributors:
Dr Elisabeth Fondren - Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New York, USA.
Douglas Cleverdon - BBC radio producer (Archive).
Don White - one of thousands relocated under a Canadian government scheme (Archive).
Edward Knipling - entomologist known for his development of the Sterile Insect Technique (Archive).
Asha Bhosle - celebrated Indian playback singer (Archive).
David Dein, co-founder, English Premier League.
Agnes Lee - former home economist at The Australian Women's Weekly.

(Photo: British and Indian Troops of the 14th Army in Burma, March 1945. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwworm

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya.

We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out of hiding and lay down her arms.

Caroline Elkins, Professor of History at Harvard University, discusses the brutality of the conflict between Kenya’s Land and Freedom Army, the British and Kenyan loyalists.

Next, when Princess Elizabeth became queen while staying at the Treetops Hotel, a lodge in the Aberdare National Park.

In 1997, scientists travelled to Kenya, in search of a cave believed to have been the den of the man-eating lions that terrorised railway workers in 1898.

Plus, we hear how Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga signed an unprecedented power-sharing deal to end a wave of violence that left more than 1,200 people dead. 

And the heartwarming story of the friendship between a baby hippo and a 130-year-old giant tortoise. 

Finally for our Sporting Witness story, we head to the first Ultimate Frisbee World Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1983. 

Contributors:
Caroline Elkins - Professor of History at Harvard University, and author of Britain's Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya.
Muthoni Kirima - Field Marshall in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army.
Frank Gillard - BBC correspondent.
Thomas Gnoske - Scientist.
Alan Patterson - British Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson's grandson.
Maina Kiai - Chair of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights in 2008.
Maini Schildt - Swedish Ultimate Frisbee player.

(Photo: Mau Mau suspects are rounded up by police outside the camp in Manyani, Kenya, 1955. Credit: Getty Images/Authenticated News)

The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lions

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.

This week, we hear about the end of decades-long martial law in Taiwan and discuss its impact on the country's literature with Ti-han Chang, the Deputy Director of Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS University of London.

Next, the making of City of God, the film that showed the raw reality of children's gangs in Brazil's favelas.

Plus, we remember Ashley Kriel, the young activist who became an anti-apartheid icon on the Cape Flats.

We also hear about the first carbon offset scheme that planted millions of trees in Guatemala.

We go back 50 years to the first time women played basketball in the Olympic Games.

And the birth of Club Med, the resort that pioneered the all-inclusive holiday.

Contributors:
Fred Chin - former Malaysian student imprisoned during Taiwan's White Terror.
Katia Lund - co-director of City of God.
Adiel 'Gorie' November - former anti-apartheid activist.
Roberto Antonio Alvarado - planted the saplings that became some of the world’s first carbon offsets.
Pierre-Xavier Bécret - son of Club Med employees.
Juliene Brazinski Simpson - former US basketball player.

(Photo: Green Island former prison, Taiwan. Credit: James Wendlinger/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

Taiwan's White Terror and the making of City of God

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. 

We hear how a comic book fan and his friends began the very first comic convention in New York in 1964. 

Our guest is comic book expert Dr Barbara Postema, from the University Groningen in the Netherlands. 

Next, we hear how Oasis 1995 hit Wonderwall was made with the man who was the sound engineer on the record. 

Plus, the memories of the cellist of Auschwitz in World War Two and the final use of a barbaric execution method in Franco’s Spain. 

Sporting Witness takes us back to Hearts of Midlothian’s heartbreaking season of 1986. 

And finally, we learn how Sweden gave its workers some of the longest paid holidays in the world in 1970. 

Contributors: 

Bernie Bubnis – organiser of the first Comic Con 

Dr Barbara Postema - lecturer in the English programme at the University of Groningen 

Nick Brine – sound engineer on Oasis’ song Wonderwall 

Anita Lasker-Wallfisch – the cellist of Auschwitz 

Carme Puig Antich – brother of Salvador Puig Antich 

Gary Mackay and striker John ‘Robbo’ Robertson – former Hearts players 

Inga Persson - beneficiary of Sweden’s long summers 

(Photo: Oasis performing in 1996. Credit: Bernd Mueller/ Redferns via Getty)

The first Comic Con and making Oasis’ Wonderwall

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.

This week, we hear about the first solar-powered flight around the world, and discuss other moments in the history of solar power with Prof Laura Herz, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, in the UK.

Plus, the start of the largest mountain carving in the world in honour of Native American warrior Crazy Horse, Mexico's 'little old lady killer' and the birth of the 'African Oscars', FESPACO.

Finally, when American football came to Europe and how a Peruvian instrument, the cajon, revolutionised flamenco.

Contributors: 
Bertrand Piccard - one of the pilots of Solar Impulse 2.
Prof Laura Herz, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford.
Monique Ziolkowski - daughter of the sculptor who started the Crazy Horse Memorial.
Dr Feggy Ostrosky - neuropsychologist who worked with Juana Barraza.
Alimata Salembéré - president of the first organising committee of the Pan African Film and Television Festival.
Oliver Luck - former president of NFL Europe.
Rubem Dantas - percussionist who helped introduce the cajon into flamenco.

(Photo: Solar Impulse 2 flies over the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco in 2016. Credit: Jean Revillard via Getty Images)

Solar-powered flight and the Crazy Horse Memorial

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.

This week, we mark 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil War. Our guest is historian Professor Sir Paul Preston, who explains how the conflict transformed Spain and paved the way for the rise of General Francisco Franco. We hear the story of a young refugee who fled the fighting but later returned home while the war was still under way.

We then travel to the Canadian Arctic, where the Inuit fought for greater control over their land and way of life. Their campaign would eventually lead to the creation of Nunavut, Canada's newest and largest territory.

We also hear the story behind ‘The Kiss of Life’, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph that captured a life-saving rescue.

From Turkey, we hear memories of the failed military coup of July 2016, a night of violence that left hundreds dead. 

Plus, the story of the Birkin bag, the oversized handbag created in the 1980s that became one of the world's most coveted fashion accessories.

And from Sporting Witness, why do thousands of sports fans around the world suddenly stand up, throw their arms into the air and sit down again? We discover the origins of the Mexican wave and how it became a global sporting tradition.

Contributors:
Professor Sir Paul Preston – historian, author and professor at London School of Economics
Paul Quassa- Inuit politician and activist
JD Thompson- American lineman in ‘The Kiss of Life’ photograph 
Can Cumhurcu - Mukhtar of Çengelköy, Istanbul
Jane Birkin – creator of the Birkin bag in interviews from BBC Archive
Krazy George Henderson – creator of the Mexican Wave

(Photo: Spanish Civil War in September 1936. Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

The Spanish Civil War and the Birkin bag

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.

Our guest is Mateja Kurir, associate professor at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the editor of the book, On Power in Architecture.

We start with Jackie Kennedy's 1962 renovation of the United States' White House and the immigrant workers who protested against rent hikes and living conditions in 1970s France. 

Next, the toxic explosion in a chemical factory in northern Italy in 1975 and South Sudan's celebration of independence in 2011.

Plus, the art movement Dada which began 110 years ago and went on to influence Surrealism and punk.

Finally, the Wimbledon final of 2008 between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer which some call the greatest tennis match ever played.

Contributors:
Jackie Kennedy - featured in a CBS TV special in 1962.
Mohammed Kherbachi - witness to the foyer strikes of the 1970s.
Giuseppe Cassina - former Mayor of Seveso.
Malual Bol Kiir - on the time of South Sudan's independence.
Richard Huelsenbeck - interviewed in 1959 for the BBC programme, The Meaning of Dada.
Rafael Nadal - winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles.

This episode has been updated since its original broadcast to clarify the national origins of some artists.

(Photo: The White House in 1962. Credit: Getty Images)

Buildings of power and the Dada art movement

After a brief civil war in March-April 1948, the new president of Costa Rica, Jose Figueres, took the audacious step of dissolving the Armed Forces. The Central American country is now one of just over 20 countries without a standing army - we find out more. Plus, Maya Angelou's ground-breaking memoir, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and the remarkable story of the raising of the Swedish warship, the Vasa.

Photo: Costa Rican soldiers in San Jose after the end of the civil war, April 1948 (Credit: Getty Images)

Abolishing the army

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